​​“This is my sixth time receiving this award and what an honor! This award has helped pave the way for my career goals — to utilize engineering to make healthcare more accessible for all! I wanted to thank PFMA for this scholarship, which has funded both my undergrad degree in engineering and now my degree in medicine. Thank you!”

Vignesh Selvakumaran, a six-time Ridge Scholar, will use his scholarship to attend the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Through the Sobti Scholarship, Selvakumaran traveled to India helping the Aravind Eye Hospital create an inexpensive device used for cataract surgery in rural areas and poor countries. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and he hopes combine his engineering knowledge with a medical degree to create better medical devices.

In college, he is active in Hotspotting High Utilities of Healthcare, the Refugee Health Initiative, Weiss Tech House, Eco Rep, Penn Democrats and peer mentorship. He volunteers at Health Education for High School and Duke Elementary.

His mother, Sujatha Selvakumaran, works for Wawa, Inc., sponsor of his Ridge Scholarship.